Today's yard work brought home the truth behind a very important lesson - horses are unpredictable.
Sharon has 4 horses currently in work - her Novice eventer, India, Intro level, Juniper, and two 4 year olds to be brought on, Lewis and Stella. While Sharon's focus is the two horses competing this season, she's taught me how to lunge and long-rein the youngsters in order for her to reback them this summer.
Lewis is pushing 17hh and still growing, he's sweet and gawky, with the breeding to become a serious eventer. He can be rude on the ground and has the limited focus of a horse that doesn't know much about working, but he knuckles down and learns quickly. Stella was bred by Sharon to be her next event horse, and is a different animal entirely. She's sharp and stubborn, and will fight if she doesn't want to do something. If you let her get away even once with bad manners or wrong behaviour, she'll repeat it and worse every time.
I've been working with the two of them on the ground for next last few weeks and never had much trouble, but unfortunately freak accidents do happen.
Sharon was riding India in the sand school, as I lunged Stella, we had just warmed up when Sharon called out that Juniper was loose. She'd somehow managed to unbolt her stable door, shoulder her kick barrels out of the way, break out of the yard, through the car park and come charging into the school, bucking like a maniac. I reeled in an overexcited Stella and tried to keep her calm and steady, as Sharon trotted over to draw Juniper away from us and give her a lead back to the yard. It worked fine, untill Stella protested at being left by herself in the school, tried to shoulder past me and then reared, kicking me in the head with a foreleg. I wasn't able to hold her as she ran back to the stables, but thankfully she didn't hurt herself. I'm even more thankful that Sharon makes sure we wear helmets when riding or working with any of the horses. It may seem pointless to some people to wear a hard hat when leading, or lunging a horse, when your feet are on the ground, but it makes me feel ill to think how I might've been injured if I hadn't been wearing one.
I almost burst into tears, and couldn't stop shaking after, but luckily I wasn't concussed or badly hurt, though I got a splitting headache. Sharon took Stella out again after to work her properly, while I went to groom India to calm down - she is the sweetest, well-mannered, most gentle horse I've ever worked around. I'm not back at the yard untill Monday, when we may be taking Juniper to a local event, but I'm determined not to let this put me off. Accidents happen unfortunately, and while I might not be so keen to work Stella next time, I'll be trying hard to get my nerve back.
